World

Pussy Riot Members Walk Free Under New Amnesty Law

UPDATE: Dec, 23, 9 a.m. ET:A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the band members' release date as Dec. 19. The two women were freed on Dec. 23.

The two jailed members of the band Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were released from prison ahead of schedule after the Russian government passed a new amnesty law.

Just a few months before the end of their two-year prison sentences, two jailed members of the Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot could be released from jail as Russia's parliament approved a sweeping amnesty bill.

Duma, the country's lower house of parliament, voted unanimously in favor of the bill on Wednesday, The Guardianreported. The bill was approved three consecutive times, as Russian law requires.

The bill, proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the adoption of Russia's constitution, will grant amnesty to first-time offenders, minors and women with small children. The two Pussy Riot members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (center) and Maria Alyokhina (right), fall into the latter category. It could free as many as 20,000 to 22,000 people, per Bloomberg, including the band members.

"According to the draft law passed today, my clients will be freed," the bandmates' lawyer, Irina Khrunova, told Bloomberg on Tuesday.

Three members of Pussy Riot — Tolokonnikova, Alyokhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich — were arrested in August 2012 following an impromptu punk rock concert with two other band members in a Moscow church. During the concert, the women sang a "punk prayer" defying Putin, chanting: "Mother of God, Blessed Virgin, drive out Putin!"

The three were ultimately found guilty of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred," but Samutsevich was released in October 2012 on a suspended sentence.

A late amendment extended the bill to those still awaiting trial, including 30 Greenpeace activists dubbed the Arctic 30, meaning they are now eligible for freedom. The activists were arrested by Russian military in September for protesting against Russian oil exploitation on a ship near an oil rig in the Arctic.

Now, Putin just needs to sign the bill. It also must be published by the state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, per Russian law. The two Pussy Riot members could be be released at that point, perhaps as soon as Thursday; however, their release could technically take up to six months. Officials at the two prisons where Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina are held said they are ready to release them as soon as the bill is passed into law, according to The Guardian.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.